Batcombe: St Mary

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

Batcombe is a small dispersed village at the head of the beautiful Wriggle Valley. The parish is mostly dairy farmland and comprises 30 or so houses, spread along the four arms of the central crossroads. Farming families form the bedrock of the population of 75 adults, which also includes business folk working from home or commuting and a few retired or second homeowners. The small but beautiful old church of St. Mary Magdalene is at the extreme south of the village.

The church has a locally-built organ with an organist. The surrounding graveyard and adjoining car park are regularly maintained by a small but dedicated group of volunteers from the village. One mile to the east is Hilfield Friary, one of the foundation houses of the Society of Saint Francis, and Batcombe is blessed by the support of the Brothers, who preside at some services

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].

Beer Hackett: St Michael

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.

Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.

There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].

Bradford Abbas: St Mary the Virgin

St Mary's is open every day to visitors. Please come in for a moment of personal prayer or when you just want a quiet place to sit and think. We have tea and coffee making facilities - help yourself. We have two or more Sunday services each month and new faces are always welcome.

Bishop's Caundle Parish Church

All are welcome at Bishop's Caundle Church.

This has been a site of Christian worship for at least 800 years although the present church building mostly dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.

The church consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch and three-stage west tower which is Perpendicular in style with elements of Somerset tracery. It has a peal of five bells which are regularly rung. The earliest parts of the present building date from the 14th century and are the east wall of the nave and south aisle and the eastern part of its south wall. The nave, west tower and the remainder of the south aisle date from the second half of the 15th century. The north wall of the nave, the south wall of the south aisle, the north porch and most of the chancel were all rebuilt in 1864 when the church was extensively restored by William Slater. The roofs of the chancel, nave and tower were also renewed, a gallery was removed, and a new ringing floor fitted to the tower, while the church interior was repaved, re-floored, and the pews fitted from earlier box-pews.

Known simply as 'Bishop's Caundle Parish Church', serving the community of Bishop's Caundle, making Jesus known. We enjoy a close working partnership with our nearest CE primary school.

Caundle Marsh: St Peter & St Paul

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.

Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.

There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

The church of St. Peter and St. Paul stands in a small churchyard adjacent to a working dairy farmyard and is well-loved by the residents of this tiny, scattered village for whom it provides a focus.

The congregation is developing a unique identity as “the Church on the Farm”, intent on developing relationships with the nearby Bishops Caundle Primary School and becoming a valuable resource for learners as an Eco Church.

Services are held on the fifth Sunday of the month, and social events are held after the Harvest service and in early December - “Tune Up for Christmas”, a carol-singing gathering. There is a committed PCC and the church has strong links with local farming families.

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].

Chetnole: St Peter

Welcome to St. Peter's Church, Chetnole. Our church lies at the heart of this lovely Dorset village, right opposite the Chetnole Inn and the village hall.

Folke: St Lawrence

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.

Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.

There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].

Hermitage: St Mary

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.

Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.

There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].

Hilfield: St Nicholas

Dorset villages have a well-deserved reputation for offering a warm welcome to newcomers. The same is true of our Benefice and there are lots of different places where you can find a home with us.

Every one of our worshipping communities has its own character, but they all share a desire to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Come in and you will find friendly faces.

Each week in different parts in the Benefice you will find family friendly worship. We aim to provide something for all ages at these services so come and test us out. Feedback is very welcome.

There is a very long history of worship in the Benefice going back hundreds of years. Our worship reflects this with more modern worship living happily alongside more traditional forms.

For all enquiries: contact Jenny Thomas at the Benefice Office open Monday and Tuesday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm or phone on 01935 872600 or email at [email protected].